Potlicker Flats, PA
How exposed is Potlicker Flats to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Potlicker Flats lands at the 62nd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 112 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Potlicker Flats at the 59th national percentile — 3 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
53.6% of Potlicker Flats's 112 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 60 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 46.4% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where Potlicker Flats ranks
Within Pennsylvania, Potlicker Flats ranks higher (97th percentile) than it does nationally (62nd) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Potlicker Flats ranks 12,110 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 28,563 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 57 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Potlicker Flats
Potlicker Flats's 62nd-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Potlicker Flats (53.6%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Potlicker Flats's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 112 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Potlicker Flats. The exposure-zones guide covers what Potlicker Flats's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.